Immigrants are not animals

A compassionate, sweeping immigration plan makes both moral and economic sense

Trump’s roundup of undocumented workers may bring glee to some, but think what it will do to New Mexico’s fragile economy. Consider:

1) At risk are some 6,000 jobs connected to commercial business along the border, businesses that conduct business with Mexico.

2) Some people do not understand that immigrants documented or undocumented contribute to the economy, including buying essentials to live at grocery stores and car dealerships.

3) Schools get dollars from the state per pupil whether documented or undocumented. Get rid of undocumented children — or of U.S. citizenship because their parents are undocumented — and then get rid of their teachers and this would generate another hole in the economies of state and local governments.

4) Some people think that undocumented workers only take from the system and do not contribute. They have to have a place to live, so they rent or buy through a documented relative, thereby paying taxes. Many also pay federal income taxes.

5) Pecans, pistachios and chile crops — who do you think picks these crops? Hard-working undocumented workers who want nothing more than to support their families.

Who do you think does most of the ranch work in New Mexico tending to alfalfa fields and getting it ready for market? Documented or undocumented workers?

It is very interesting to note that President Trump is planning to hire 10,000 ICE and 5,000 more border patrol agents to keep us safe from undocumented workers who toil in our fields and who could possibly use their rakes and shovels as weapons against us.

Instead of building a wall to protect us from these undocumented workers, let’s put these new 15,000 agents along with the thousands of existing agents currently watching the border and let them hold hands. I am sure there are plenty of them to reach from Texas to California and it would be less expensive than a $15-billion-dollar Trump wall. As it is, we have almost 10 Border Patrol agents per linear mile and this does not include Office of Field Operations officers who are at the ports of entry and at the U.S./Mexico border.

When I ran for Congress in 2002 I advocated for work permits for Mexican workers to come and pick the crops legally and if they committed no crimes they would have a path to citizenship. That went nowhere, but the problem still exists and our Rep. Steve Pearce has not found a way to solve the problem.

Comprehensive immigration reform is the answer but it has not happened. Why not? Because the Republican Party cannot come to grips that sanctions against employers that hire undocumented workers, and that cannot happen because many employers are Republicans.

We are in a dire situation with families being torn apart and families fearful of the immigration police. Let’s bring these undocumented workers and children who were brought to this country at a young age at no fault of their own, bring them into the sunlight and welcome them to pay taxes and contribute to their country and communities.

Compassionate comprehensive immigration reform is the answer, not random roundups. Immigrants are not animals.